The game of catch has been played since antiquity, both as a form of play and, in more recent times, as part of a sport such as baseball, etc. As is well known, the game is played by tossing a ball (or any similar article) back and forth between two or more players, who may catch the ball with their bare hands, or with the aid of a baseball glove, or the like.
Although throwing and catching an object, such as a ball, is enjoyable and easily mastered by older children and adults, a surprising amount of coordination is required to successfully play the game. This coordination is often lacking in children in their early stages of physical development Although younger children are generally eager to attempt playing the game of catch or related sports activities, they often become frustrated in their efforts due to their inability to successfully catch the ball.
One object of the subject invention is to simplify the game of catch so that it may be easily played by younger children
Another object of the instant invention is to simplify the game of catch by providing play articles which permit a young child to easily catch a thrown object, such as a ball, through use of a unique catching aid.
In accordance with one aspect and feature of the subject invention, unique play articles are provided for playing the game of catch. These articles include a catcher's aid (typically glove type) with a front surface covered in a hook and loop type fastening material such as VELCRO (registered trademark of The Velcro Manufacturing Co.), along with a ball having a surface area covered in similar material to permit the ball to be easily caught by the catcher's glove by the attachment action of the hook and loop type fastening material.
Prior art patents exist in which mating sections of VELCRO, or similar material, are used to facilitate adherence of an object to the front surface of a play article.
One of the earliest of patents is U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,345, issued May 1, 1962 to Jerome H. Lemelson. This patent is directed to a dart game in which the front surface of a dart, and the front surface of a target, were covered with VELCRO material When the dart is thrown at the target, the dart attaches to the target, simulating play as with an actual game of darts, but without the danger of sharpened steel dart tips.
A second Lemelson patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,566, issued Dec. 31, 1974, is directed to solving the problem of a dart disengaging from the target area due to the inherent bounce of the dart upon impact on the target. The "bounce problem" was addressed in the '566 patent by stretching VELCRO material over a frame, which frame maintained a predetermined distance between the VELCRO material and the wall on which the frame was to be hung. During the initial impact stage of the head of the dart against the flexible VELCRO material, the dart decelerates, without bounce, thereby preventing disengagement of the dart from the target.
Although the '566 patent addressed the "bounce problem", it did so by providing a frame structure over which the VELCRO material was stretched. Such a solution is clearly unsatisfactory for play articles to be used in the game of catch or other baseball like games.
A similar patent directed specifically to the game of catch is U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,748, issued to William A. Clarke on Dec. 28, 1976. This patent is directed to play articles useful in the game of catch, comprising a ball coated with VELCRO like material, and a mitt or glove having an outer face also covered with a VELCRO like material. The mitt or glove is a multi-layer device, consisting of a facing layer of VELCRO material, a flexible textile backing layer, and an intermediate plastic foam layer sandwiched between the backing layer and the facing layer. The entire multi-layer device is flexible in nature and devoid of rigid parts, which construction (although not mentioned in the '748 patent), might tend to reduce the "bounce problem". However, the flimsy construction of the mitt described in the '748 patent would prohibit adherence of any "hard thrown" balls due to inadequate padding and, moreover, the flexible nature of the entire glove would result in constant movement on the hand, making the glove very difficult for young children to use.
It is, therefore, an object of the subject invention to provide somewhat rigid articles of play for use with the game of catch, which are easily used by young children, while at the same time being completely devoid of the "bounce problem".
It is a further object of the instant invention to provide articles of play for use by young children in the game of catch, which are capable of absorbing the high energy of hard thrown balls without bounce or injury to the hand.
Lastly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a game of catch which is simple and economical to manufacture.